Tag Archives: up

#1270: Dizzee Rascal – Stand Up Tall

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I remember being alive in 2003 and seeing Dizzee Rascal on The Box with ‘I Luv U’. His first ever single, released from the seminal Boy in da Corner. I was eight years old. I didn’t understand it at all. Then ‘Fix Up, Look Sharp’ came around, and that track blew up like crazy. Had the memorable hook with the stomping drums, sampled from Billy Squier. I was too young to understand the grime movement and how important Dizzee’s success was to it. I just knew that there was this guy existing in the world, out and about with these new songs. And it felt that as soon as 2003 ended and 2004 began, there he was again with this new song called ‘Stand Up Tall’. Hopefully someday an actual high-quality video for the song will arrive on YouTube. For now, it looks like we’ll have to do with the 240p quality that’s available for the time being.

‘Stand Up Tall’ was released as the first single from Dizzee Rascal’s second album Showtime, released in the summer of 2004. I won’t lie to you and say it’s an album I know inside out. I listened to it in full once in about 2015/16 and have proceeded to forget how most of it goes. It was very much critically acclaimed at the time, but a lot of the attention to this day goes to its predecessor. And I mainly remember its singles that were released in its era. But ‘Stand Up Tall’ was the one to mark Dizzee’s return, even if he never really left, and here he was with the bigger-budget music video filmed somewhere in the US, but making sure that you knew he was from London/UK with the predominant showing of the Union Jack, the silver hackney carriage, and the ladies dressed in attire typical of the English capital.

I never saw the music video repeatedly like it usually goes with many of the songs I’ve written about on here. I maybe saw it once or twice on the TV. I instead got well-accustomed to ‘Stand Up Tall’ through its inclusion on the FIFA Street soundtrack. Many weekends were spent playing that one. As was the practice for the company, the track was censored in places – muting the mention of ‘Chinese [zoots]’ and the line about stretching ‘the [arsehole] without straining’. This was the version of the song that I knew for the longest time. When it comes to what the song’s about, well, it’s just Dizzee saying that he’s representing London, stating that he’s got love for his people living in all areas of the UK, warning any haters to not try anything with him ’cause he’ll retaliate, and telling people to get on the dancefloor when his song’s playing and to stop the tough-guy pretenses. And also there’s the message to be confident in yourself and do your best. All delivered along a hectic beat with whirring synths and plucky pizzicato strings.

#1217: Supergrass – Sitting Up Straight

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Just over a month ago I was writing about a Supergrass song from I Should Coco, and now I find myself in the same situation. ‘Sitting Up Straight’ is another tune from the LP that I remember liking very much immediately. Coming right after preceding track ‘Strange Ones’, which alternates between upbeat, in-your-face pop rock for the choruses and bluesy-waltz timing for its verses, ‘Sitting Up Straight’ fixes the listener with the former all throughout its duration. It does start slowly to begin with, a loungy performance of what later makes itself known as the song’s chorus lulls you in, before things properly get underway after 20 seconds.

“Sitting up straight on the back of the bus / Mimicking time as evening turns to dusk” is the first lyric, it’s one that bass guitarist Mick Quinn admits to not knowing what it means. But it firmly places any listener in the scene. A narrator’s sitting at the back of a bus and listing the things they see and do. They make note of a boy with his “face on the floor” – a British saying, meaning he’s looking glum – before empathising with them in the joyous choruses where the guitars really come into life among some rapturous harmonies. That first chorus comes in with an entire different key to what the song initially set off with, begins in G before switching up to D I think, and remains in that until it all finishes.

I enjoy this one quite a bit actually. I see YouTube comments that read along the lines of “Yeah, the song’s good, but the chorus could be better”. Which… I can maybe kind of see. But I consider them to be the best part. As choruses usually are wont to be. But in general, the song’s very easy to get into. The previous track throws you in a few different directions. But with ‘Sitting Up’ you know where you stand. That is, at least, after 20 seconds of waiting. It’s like an “Enough of that, we know you want to hear more of this” kind of thing. That’s how I sort of see it. Plus, if you get the words down for the first verse and the chorus, no more work has to be done on your part because the second verse is the exact same. All in all, a fantastic punkish package of Britpop.

#1071: Talking Heads – Pulled Up

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A lot of Talking Heads songs I’ve written about on here tend to come from Fear of Music. There’s one other one post on here for a track from Remain in Light. There would be so many more songs on here, had the timing been different. Like in the case of tracks from the band’s debut album Talking Heads:77, I’ll only be able to cover ‘Uh-Oh Love Comes to Town’ and the closer ‘Pulled Up’. I’m a huge advocate for ‘The Book I Read’, ‘Don’t Worry About the Government’ and ‘First Week/Last Week… Carefree’. Alas, there time wasn’t ever to come on here. That might leave you asking, “Well, where’s the post for ‘Psycho Killer’, eh?” And the answer is, I rather prefer this live version to the one that you can listen to all the time on say, Spotify, for example.

But speaking of ‘Psycho Killer’, it comes before ‘Pulled Up’ on the record and, as a result, provides probably the most notable mood whiplash in the band’s discography. After a creepy-creep song with French lyrics and hectic breakdown ending about comes this great mood boosting, uplifting track about a person who’s been feeling low and down but has now gained a new lease of life via the help of an undisclosed presence. David Byrne sings from the perspective of a man, could even be himself – I don’t see why not, who’s now living a life of success and basically wants everyone to know how good he’s feeling. With a little help from friends/family/unrevealed sources, he’s found the strength to overcome his adversities and come out the other side with a brighter outlook on life. Seems too good to be true if we’re discussing a Talking Heads song here, but I think the track’s as genuine as it gets.

Tracks filled with those usual Talking Heads quirks. Byrne is as eccentric as ever in his vocal delivery, covering a range from restrained yelping melodies to wild, barbaric howls. He’s anything but inhibited when it comes to recording vocal takes. He even chuckles a little on the “There’s really no hurry, I’ll eat in a while” lyric, something which I always thought was because it doesn’t even attempt to rhyme with the line that comes before it. Only he’ll know what’s so funny about it, I guess. But in general, the whole track from its music to the tempo to all the ascending scales (a typical characteristic of songs about going up) make for such a relieving burst of energy, something that builds and builds until it finally releases with the strike of the song’s final chord and thus the album’s. Talking Heads album endings never disappointed, and they set the bar high on the first go.

#907: Sum 41 – Never Wake Up

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‘Never Wake Up’ is the third song on Sum 41’s All Killer No Filler album. Hard to come up with a thorough, deep post about it. Reasons being that it’s only 50 seconds long, and I don’t think that its lyrics that you see online are even correct. Well, except for the “I plan on never waking up” lines, that’s clearly what he’s singing there. Despite those things, the track always scratches an itch when it comes on on shuffle or something. There’ll be all these mid-tempo, complex songs playing and this one rolls in with pummeling force from the first second.

From the lyrics that are available online, I’m making a guess that the track is about trying to find the motivation to get out of bed in the morning and failing to do so. It’s a subject that’s touched upon later in the album, arguably in a more fleshed out form. But what this song has going for it is sheer energy and speed. It’s a track to just freak out and lose control to for a short moment before you have to adjust yourself back to reality. I like those guitar chord jumps that happen after each ‘never waking up’ repetition. They didn’t have to be included, but they add that extra kick to the proceedings. And although I don’t have a clue what Deryck Whibley is saying for the majority, it’s always a good effort to try and sing along anyways. The track may make up a small small part of the album’s runtime, but it’s definitely lives up to the killer aspect of its name.

My iPod #535: The Raconteurs – Hold Up

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As every year passes I feel that the chances of The Raconteurs releasing another album become slimmer. Though I wouldn’t be sad if Consolers of the Lonely was the last album the band released. For me it seemed like such a step up from Broken Boy Soldiers; the production gives the band a bigger sound working hand in hand with the memorable hooks, melodies and brilliant guitar playing that is delivered on almost every track. This is a rock album and there hasn’t really been one of the same calibre released since 2008. The band are currently on hiatus, but I’m in no rush for new material anytime soon.

I would categorise “Hold Up” as being the ‘party track’ of the album. The title phrase is repeated twenty-two times during the whole song; the majority of the time it is yelled out for the song’s choruses. Though it is repetitive, it doesn’t suffer from becoming boring or less thrilling the more times you listen to it. The song’s narrative sees Jack White fed up with ‘these modern times’ and he succeeds in getting with a lady that will help him get through them. I do guarantee that it will take you a couple of listens to gather what he is singing about though, just because the chorus has already embedded itself into your mind.